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F; E JONES. SELF SERVING STORE.

APPLlCATlON FILED SEPT. 22, 1919- Patentaa Nov. '15, 1921.

IIHIIIII lllllllll lllllllll' Illllllll lllllnll A TTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

FRANK E. JONES, OF SAN DIE-G0, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR T0 DAVID B. RED, OF HATTIESBURG, MISSISSIPPI.

SELF-SERVING STORE.

Specification of Letters Fatent.

Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

Application filed September 22, 1919. Serial No. 325,514.

T 0 all 'whom it 'may concern Be it known that I, FRANK E. JoNEs, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Die o, in the county of San Diego and State of alifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Serving Stores, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to stores wherein the customers wait upon themselves by picking out the articles desired and taking them to the cashier to complete the purchase and the objects of my invention are: First, to provide a shelfless store; second, to provide a store of this class whereby an inventory of the stock and goods sold may be readily made daily; third, to provide a store of this class so arranged that the customer will be required to review the entire stock before passing out to the cashier and in which the customers will pass in one direction so that they will not become confused by meeting others coming from opposite directions; fourth, to provide a self-serving store so arranged that it is economical of construction, easy for the customers 'to serve themselves and easy to replace the empty chutes.

With these and other objects in view as will appear hereinafter, my invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts and portions as will be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the characters of reference thereon which form a part of this application, in which:

F igure 1 is a plan view of a storeroom of my special arrangement and construction; and Fig. 2 is a sectional view through 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts and portions throughout the several views of the drawings.

The store consists of a series of chutes 1 forming a continuous wall 2 extending back and forth in spaced relation as shown best in Figs. 1 and 2 and extending from the floor to the ceiling or to any position desired. This continuous wall forms a plurality of backwardly extending compartments 3 and a plurality vof forwardly eX- tending compartments 4 which extend from the storeroom 5. Extending across the front portion of the store and spaced from the ends of the walls forming the inwardly extending compartments 4ris a railing 6 which is provided with turnstiles 6a and 6b and extending from this rail 6 are a plurality of rail sections 6G., 6d, and (e which extend backwardly into the compartments 3 dividing said compartments 3 into two passage ways and leaving a space at the end to permit the customer to pass around the end thus forming a continuous passage way from the entrance at the turnstile 6a, past all the goods positioned in the continuous wall 2 and out past the turnstile 6b and the cashier. It will be noted that the store keeper in the store portion 5 may pass into the compartments 4 for placing the top portions of the chutes filled with goods in position, replacing the empty chutes. It will'be noted that in front of the chutes is placed a thin partition 7 so that when a chute is removed it is not perceptihle from the customer's side of the store.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings are shown a chute for delivering fruit and other globular matter which consists of a round conveyer 10.

At or near the end of the last row of chutes there is provided a fruit and Vegetable rack 11 placed adj acent the cashierls place andynear the front and close to the exit so that these are the last to be passed in the movement of the customer. A door is provided between one of the passage ways 4 and the cashiers place to permit the entrance from the storeroom to the cashierls place or from the cashierls place back into the storeroom. Mounted near the turnstile 6a and in close proximity to the entrance into the store' is a place for baskets 12 so that the customer may obtain baskets as they pass through the turnstile 6a.

Though I have shown and described a particular construction, combination and arrangement of parts and portions and certain modifications thereof, I do not wish to be limited to this particular construction, combination and arrangement nor to the modifications but desire to include in the purview of my invention the construction, combination and arrangement substantially as set forth in the appended claim.

It is obvious that with this construction and arrangement there is provided a selfserving, shelfiess store wherein the customer will pass in view of practically all of the goods in stock; that he may obtain the goods and place his basket in position to receive the goods; that the counter Will readily disclose the quantity of goods sold thus pro- Viding for a daily inventory; that all of the goods are back out of the Way, out of the dust and out of Sight.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

In a self-serve store apparatus, the combination, With an inclosui'e, of a display Gabinet located Within said inclosui'e and made up of portions arranged in a. general zig-zag form so as to produce a number of oppositely disposed aisles, these aisles being parallel to each other, and opening in opposite dii'ections.

n testimony Whei'eof, have hereunto set my hand at San Diego, California, this 17th day of September, 1919.V

FRANK E; JONES. 

